Thunder 106 Presents

Rodney Atkins

Artist Information

"I love the grit," says Rodney Atkins. "I love getting sawdust on me. I lovegetting under the hood and getting grease all over: working hard, until yourknuckles are busted."

After over two decades in country music, it's hard to imagine that theTennessee-born Atkins could still treasure the difficult moments and the arduousprocess of creating a song from the ground up. But he's just the kind of artist wholoves the roots as much as the tree. With six number-one hits under his belt, fourstudio LP's and over ten million units sold, Atkins is more invested than ever inmaking honest, authentic records that tell a story and showcase his unique place inthe world, which is exactly what he does on his forthcoming fifth LP. But it took amoment, about three years ago, for him to take stock not just of where he'd been,but where he was going.

"I equated it to my bow and arrow moment," Atkins says. "I felt like I neededto stop, take a few steps back. Re-aim. Re-adjust. Get back on target, and to the levelI wanted to operate on."

It was a logical moment – in the wake of his first greatest hits compilation,Rodney Atkins Greatest Hits, in 2015, he wanted his next sonic offering to not onlypush country music forward but stay connected to what had always made it great tobegin with. And, in Atkins' eyes, that's songs about the highways of life; about family,and about love. And one true love, in particular. For Atkins, that's his wife RoseFalcon Atkins, to whom he owes so much of his creative reinvention. He creditsRose, a singer and artist herself, with helping him to find his voice again – to reembracingmelodies and the art of singing itself. Her fingerprints, whether lyrically,in a duet or just in spirit, are all over his forthcoming record.

"I went through a dark time," Atkins says. "But when I met Rose, the worldmade sense again." And he started to see music in a whole new way, writing songsand searching for ones that explored that beloved grit but were tender, too; songsthat could be blasted while driving down the road or after hunting in the field buttailor-made for first kisses and first dances. Songs that will live with his fans atevery moment, because they lived with him, too.

"I'm a song mechanic," he says. "I just love working on songs." Whetherwriting with Rose or a stable of other revered co-writers, digging for the best jewelson Music Row or offering up his own versions of new classics like Jason Isbell's"Cover Me Up," his forthcoming record explores the many sides of an artist who isonly moving forward and never too proud to do what makes him a littleuncomfortable. From the southern swagger of "What Lonely Looks Like" or thetimeless twang of "Caught Up in the Country," that pushes boundaries through athunderous beat and vocals from the Fisk Jubilee Singers, they all paint a picture of aman who isn’t afraid to show what he loves – be it the country lifestyle or thewoman by his side – because that's just who Atkins is. And that, he thinks, is what'smost important.

"Authenticity is everything to me," says Atkins, who created much of thealbum from his own home studio in the hills of Nashville. "It's being honest, beingreal. Not being afraid to reveal that piece of you. It's about being willing to put it outthere." Indeed, there are songs about fitting in and finding a place, about ourweaknesses and joys, about watching children grow and about simply letting go.Known for his numerous hits including six chart-topping tracks - "Take A BackRoad,” “It’s America,” “Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy),” “These Are My People,”“Watching You” and “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" –it's a sonic progression that will excite and captivate both new fans and ones whohave been on the ride all along.

And that road, for Atkins, has been an enviable one. His last studio LP, Take ABack Road (produced by Ted Hewitt), yielded his sixth career No. 1 hit and hisfastest - rising single to date with the title track. And his 2006 single, "WatchingYou," was named the Number One Song of the Decade by Country Aircheck, anaccolade that even found Atkins himself surprised. But it's on this newest recordwhere Atkins sees the most accurate reflection of who he is as a man, and as asinger. This time, he focused on whether or not a song had staying power – beyondjust the radio dials. But that's certainly where they'll be, too. "I believe in thesesongs," he says. "And that they are epic."

What lies ahead in 2018 for Rodney Atkins will be more than just new musicand a new record. It will be about watching his newborn baby grow – Rose recentlygave birth to their son, Ryder – and being a father to his teenager, Elijah, as well.And it will be about playing music for his fans, about continuing his avid support forthe military and for always staying connected to what keeps him caught up in thecountry. Getting grease and dirt all over: working hard, until his knuckles arebusted, and cherishing every single second.